Fallout

Flying high above fertile grasslands and gentle streams. The group of dragons plus divine beasts fled in silence. The gentle natural view of the southern lands were lost to their depressing mood. Dark storm clouds were generated in the wake of their flight.

Zulong did not speak to Qinglong and vice versa. In fact, no one spoke at all. The azure dragon could see clear anger in his brother's posture. Yet at the same time, Qinglong was also furious at him.

The bond the four divine beasts shared was a sacred one. It transcends words and is deeply tied to their existence. Separating from Zhuque hurt Qinglong, just as it had hurt Baihu and Xuanwu.

Although if you'd asked them for their personal opinion. Baihu, Xuanwu, and Qinglong would've said they made the right choice in following Zulong over Zufeng. However, that did nothing to stop the hurt they felt. The four symbols that were completed so recently had been shattered.

After fifty six days of non-stop slight, Qinglong finally spoke up. "Did things really have to end like this?" He asked, voicing his frustrations. The other two divine beasts couldn't help but listen in as well.

"The avians had declared themselves our enemy. They are a threat to big brother and must be elimi…" Yinglong began to say.

"I wasn't asking you," Qinglong abruptly cut his winged brother off. "Zulong, I support you wholeheartedly, but…why did you have to…"

"Little brother, I am sorry for your loss," Zulong said. "But understand this. In no universe would that peacock, that horse, and me exist merrily together. After meeting with that peacock, I finally understood."

"Was there really no other way brother? Why did you let her get to you?" Qinglong growled.

"If it wasn't Zhuque, would you have cared?" Zulong retorted. Qinglong gave a brief look of surprise before shaking his head. "My ambition is the same as that of that peacock and the north's horsey. When I met them I finally understood. We are diametrically opposed, our very existence clash. Peace was never an option."

"Is it? Or is it because she insulted your pride," Qinglong accused.

"The fact that she insulted me is part of the reason yes," Zulong admitted calmly. "But were you so far in paradise that you forgot how she insulted our home and master as well?" He growled.

"I…"

"I admit that my own rage overtook me. But Qinglong, where is your anger at her insults? Will you just let some stranger slander the good name of the east sea and master?" Zulong accused. The azure dragon went silent.

"I will freely admit," Zulong said. "I am naturally extremely arrogant. I don't take insults lightly and I will kill for far less. I am sorry for breaking the bonds you share, blame me if you must."

"Just know that what's done has been done. Zufeng and I are on a collision course. You may have stopped the battle now but the conflict will get far worse in the future," Zulong said. "You can feel it can't you."

The two silent divine beasts nodded along with Qinglong. The feeling they've received when they saw the dragon and the phoenix fighting. The same one Xuanwu felt faintly when Zulong met Zulin. The same destiny that was innate between all three.

The heavenly Dao was trending towards conflict. It was almost like it wished for war.

"I'm sorry brother," Qinglong apologised.

"Don't be, I get your frustration," Zulong comforted. "The heavens were unfair to you. This brother of yours has failed you."

"No, you were right brother. I am just too frustrated over how things ended up. But what's done is done," Qinglong relented. "Though I hope to repair this relationship in the future, I cannot if Zufeng remains in the picture. What say you two?" He asked Baihu and Xuanwu.

"I think I speak for Xuanwu when I say we've both thrown our all in with your lot," the white tiger answered. "I will not say I am pleased with the result. Zhuque was as important to us as you…Zulong I'll be frank with you, I understand wholeheartedly why you lashed out and in your position, I would've done much the same. I think you are more worthy then Zufeng but I cannot deny the blame I've placed on you."

"Whatever the case, it is too late to go back now," Xuanwu sighed with regret. "Personally found Zufeng a bit distasteful. I trust you more then I do her for your deeds in the north so. So we can only move on from here. What's the plan boss?"

"For now? We return to the east sea and rest," Zulong said. "I have several ideas that needs to be proven before I am fully confident in declaring myself sovereign. While I do that, we stay vigilant and wait for master's return."

"Alright," Yinglong, Qinglong, Baihu, and Xuanwu nodded. The four followed Zulong's lead as they flew through the dimensional wall.

In the years to come, their journey would remain peaceful. Around another seventy nine years later, the group finally reached Zulong's city.

…

In the shadows of the Jianmu tree, the stairway to heaven, Chenghuang woke up from his self induced hibernation. More than a hundred years spent healing an injury that was caused by stray shots during the fierce battle that took place here so long ago.

The foxlike innate god got out of his hiding spot admits the roots and wandered off. He silently looked in sadness at the environment around him. Much of the initial island had been shaved off and what remained was but a tiny portion of the original. Barely a tenth remained.

However, Chenghuang could also see distant islands that were once apart of the same mini continent he'd been born on. He sighed in relief knowing that chunks weren't outright destroyed. He still had sentimental value on his place of birth after all.

'I need to improve my cultivation,' the innate god pondered with determination. His witnessing of the power possessed by Great Unity Golden Immortals and Great Principle Chaos Immortals had shaken him to his very core. He was not a violent person nor a fighter by nature yet he recognised the need to improve his strength.

'How should I progress now?' He pondered silently. Chenghuang sat on his hind on one of the many hills on the yet unnamed island. The innate god slowly attempted to map out his progress. However, without accurate knowledge about the primitive world, he was struggling.

THOOM!

'Hm? What was that?' Chenghuang silently stood up and looked around. He closed his eyes and proceeded to sense the disturbance around him before taking off for the shore.

His white paws landed gently on the beach making tiny indents. The foxlike creature narrowed his gaze across the water to a nearby island. It was actually a new landmass created by the impact of several chunks smashing together.

Chenghuang dashed rapidly across the surface of the open ocean. Each step he took was one of elegance and grace. His long luscious tail fluttered behind him.

Foom!

Chenghuang landed softly on the larger island. Immediately, he felt the extremely dense amount of primordial Qi in the area. This will be useful to his cultivation.

The Jianmu tree had boundless starlight leaking through constantly. But Chenghuang will be the first to admit that he wasn't suited for it. He much preferred this second island.

The innate god began investigating around looking for the source of that sound. He sniffed around the air and jumped high into the sky giving himself a huge vantage point.

'There,' he thought dashing out of the clouds. He landed gracefully on the opposite end of the island on another beach. He walked over slowly seeing with his own eyes, a body lying in the sand. This being had evidently washed up just now impacting the nearby rocks.

Chenghuang noted how tough this man was. The waves were still quite violent as an after-effect from the battle over a century ago. This man was carried by the waves quite violently and looked nearly dead. In fact, Chenghuang could barely feel his life signals.

Getting closer, Chenghuang got closer to him. As he did so, he caught a sense of vertical. Suddenly, he could not register what direction he was going in. Up became down, forwards became backwards, left became right, and on and on the effects went.

'Focus,' Chenghuang berated himself. He shook his head violently and sent a burst of Qi outwards before enclosing himself in a thick veil of one. With this defence, he could just barely stop the nauseous effects.

'This one is powerful,' Chenghuang concluded. It was hard to judge given the distance between him and Si Hai not to mention the nearly deceased state of this man. But Chenghuang likened them both to be of similar rank, Great Principle ChaosImmortals.

Chenghuang circled around the body studying it. He could already feel the extremely potent Qi leaking off of him. His Dao was an established one and felt eldritch to the Golden Immortal. He stopped when he saw the man's open eye staring weakly at him.

'He's alive,' Chenghuang thought. 'No, he's barely alive, dying from the looks of it.' The innate god examined this man closer. His injuries became much more obvious when examined using divine sense.

Immortals could look fully healthy with no ailments appearing on their person. But looking at them from a spiritual lens will often tell you just how injured they truly are. For Great Principle Chaos Immortals, their body was to an extent expendable. It would hurt their combat prowess and vitality but they can survive it.

This man on the other hand. His internal structures were collapsing. His nascent soul was nearly dissipated. His Dao was already fading.

Chenghuang idly wondered what happened as he sat down. He met the gaze of this dying god silently and did not speak a word.

"Are you not going to say anything?" The dying god heaved out with great effort. "Not going to ask why or how or who I am?"

"Who are you?" Chenghuang asked softly. He was not one who liked speaking but if he needed to then he'd comply.

"Don't feel compelled to," the dying god laughed weakly. "I was merely curious. It is nice to not die alone after all, heh heh."

"To be honest, I do not like this ending. I did not survive battling Shenni only to die at the hands of an old friend. Hai, he didn't even stay for my final moments," the dying god said regretfully.

"But I didn't have a choice. The world is already setting itself up for the next great war. The three beast sovereigns birthed from Pangu are not the central characters. They are merely second fiddle to the true chess masters," he said much to Chenghuang's confusion. Who were these sovereigns he was speaking of?

"We all felt it you know. Every single one of us old fogeys felt it the day they were born. We didn't know their location but we did know they existed. It's one of the privileges of reaching the Chaos Immortal realm. Not much can be hidden from you," he said.

"Most of us didn't really care. I don't think Si Hai even noticed given how obsessed he was. But Hongjun knew, that old schemer knew he was losing a race," the dying god sighed.

"What choice did we have? Between Hongjun and Luohu, they both want to use this world to ascend. At least one of them was willing to help me retrieve my Dao," the dying god said. "I am pathetic, I took the coward's way out. Living as a puppet or as fuel to someone else is not how I wanted things to go. But they are both so far above us, there was never another option. Getting Qiankun to kill me was the best way right?"

"This world is young still. But it is already so much better than living in the Chaos Sea. It is so much more beautiful, so much more peaceful," he said with a small smile. "After all these years, I can't say I fully forgive Pangu. But I genuinely appreciate his efforts."

"My name is Shangxia little one. I once mastered the Dao of myriad directions and distorted the sense. Don't forget me," he said before stopping.

Chenghuang neared the man. But he'd already drawn his last breath. His primordial Qi left his body rapidly. His corpse was left behind, completely fresh, looking like a living person. However, his lack of moment nor presence was very telling.

Immortals did not rot. If they passed peacefully like this, they will leave behind a fully intact corpse that was itself a powerful weapon. Shangxia had been holding on for over a hundred and thirty odd years. His death came slowly but no further harm was done to him that would result in a mutilated corpse.

Chenghuang hung his head low in respect. He did not know this senior well if at all. He'd have to perform some divinations to learn more. But he felt it appropriate to give him a proper funeral.

The fox chose a forest clearing closer inland. He constructed a crude shrine for Shangxia made of stone. Then he plucked several tail hair and transformed them into incense sticks.

"Farewell senior," Chenghuang said. He'd benefited greatly from this. Just being close the Shangxia gave inspirations and revelations. Chenghuang felt that his progress will be much smoother.

Around Chenghuang's feet, white lines of primordial Qi surged outwards. They flowed throughout the island catching the innate god's curiosity. These lines touched all over the island, across rivers, plains, and woodland.

From these lines, people sprouted. Elegant, graceful, beautiful people. Their skin was white as snow, their hair was long and elegant just like Chenghuang's tail. A new innate creature tribe had formed.

"White," Chenghuang commented. These people, these men and women prancing in the nude. They were all so white, so much like snow, so much like his own white fur. These white people were blessed beneath the aura of Shangxia and Chenghuang.

By being born in the land filled with such rich primordial Qi, they possessed very long lifespans in comparison to mortals of a similar cultivation level.

"Baimin," Chenghuang whispered after observing for several years. "I will call you Baimin," he said.

"You all look so much like me," Chenghuang said softly. "You also have bits of myself in you. So, I will protect you. This land is your home as it is mine. So consider me your guardian deity," Chenghuang told the Baimin people. Afterwards, he lay down and quietly began cultivating, the Baimin people followed his example.

…

"What have you found?" Luohu asked lounging on a couch in his personal palace. Hundun who sat opposing him slid a scroll across the table.

"We suspect that Hongjun will not return for quite some time," Hundun said. "Will you be moving our forces?"

"Hm, it is the perfect time to attack and destroy Mt Yujing," Luohu said smirking. "Mara, muster our forces," he commanded.

"Should we get the Taowu as well?" Mara asked.

"No, those beasts are still too hard to control," Luohu denied. "Just get my army ready and we'll move out as soon as we can."

"Understood, it'll take some time considering how sudden this is. Will you be going ahead of us?" Mara asked. "We don't have a clear idea on Hongjun's forces."

"I suspect that old man likely placed traps around Mt Yujing. I'm also unsure what allies he'd gathered during my retreat. But I am willing to take the risk," Luohu said. "Meet me at the western borders and we'll move out as a unit."

"Very well, my lord devil," Mara and Hundun said in unison.

"Oh and someone wake up taotie, that fool's been sleeping way too long," Luohu reminded before walking out.

Unbeknown to them, a small ripple appeared above Mt Sumeru.